The murder of Umuravumba editor in chief Appolos Hakizimana on April 27 was a chilling reminder to the few journalists who survived Rwanda's genocide that they remain targets for any perceived critical reporting of the government and its officials.

Although a half-dozen newspapers and a few magazines still publish, much of the country is struggling to stabilize and rebuild itself. In the western part of the country, an ongoing clandestine battle between the government and organized opposition forces has put the countryside off-limits for civilian travel and destabilized the northwestern region. This largely unreported civil war and a government intolerant of dissent or disclosure intrude on all aspects of civic communication and discussion. But the fledgling Rwanda News Agency, established in 1997 by Jean-Baptiste Kayigamba, intends to supply articles to international news outlets.

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